Benjamin f



(No Model.)

.B. P. DENHAM.

AUTOMATIC SNOW PLOW AND SGRAPER.

N0 469,682. m I

Q). mPaJtented Mar. 1, 1892.

I/WE/VTOR V ATTORNEY.

WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFF CE.

BENJAMIN F. DENHAM, OF SANFORD, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD I TORIOHARD BELT, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATIC sNow PLOW AND SCRAPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 469,682, dated March 1,1892.

' l Application filed October 1, 1891. Serial No. 407,380. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, BENJAMIN .F'. DENHAM, a citizen of the United States,residing at Sanford,in the county of Vigo and State of Indiana, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Snow Flows andScrapers; and I do hereby declare that the fol used in clearing snowfrom railroad tracks,

and the objects of my invention are to provide a snow plow and scraperthat will work in both directions equally well, also one that can beconveniently and easily operated and at a low expense. I attain theseobjects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich Figure 1 is a side elevation of the plow and scraper, mounted upona fiat car, and with.

the plow-shares extended forward. Fig. 2 is a top view of the plowandscraper, mounted upon a fiat car, and showing the plow-sharesextended backward. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the clamp E and thelever and ratchet which it carries.

Similar letters refer to similar parts th roughout the several views.

In the drawings, the letter A indicates a long heavy strong wooden beam.

The letter n indicates a long rectangular groove, which is made at themiddle of the upper face of the beam A, and extends from the rear end ofthe beam to within a few feet of the forward end of the beam. A strongmetallic facing j is fastened upon the upper side of the beam. Thisfacing is provided with a slot which corresponds with and is coincidentwith the groove in the beam. Along fiat metallic toothed rack 'i fitsloosely in the slot at and slides lengwise in the same.

The letters D and D" indicate two flat metallic plates, which arefastened one at either side of the beam A by means of the bolts 1), b,b", and b. These'bolts are so situated that the upper set Z7 b will layupon the upper face of the beam A, while the lower set b" b' rest closeup to the under side of the beam, thus the two plates or guides D and Dcan be made to slide along the beam. The bolt 17 passes through aperforation in the front end of the rack Consequently when the sideguides D and D are moved along the beam the rack is moved along with itin the groove 47..

0 indicates a set of strong metallic plates, which are fastenedtogetherlike a large hinge, as shown in Fig. 1. The facingj and ashortbut similar facingj, which is fastened upon the lower side of the beamA, are perforated to receive the rod 25, which fastens the two parts ofthe hinge together. By this means and the addition of two strongmetallic braces P and P, the large hinge O is fastened upon the extremeforward end of the beam A.

B and Bare two strong rectangular shares which are fastened one toeither side of the hinge O and open or shut up with the same. Theseshares may be constructed of wood, metal, or any other desired material,and they form the plow and scraper proper. The shares B and B extendfrom the top of the track-rails up to any required height, the heightbeing regulated by the nature of the snow-drifts to be cleared. Thebottom edge of these shares, if constructed of wood, are shod withstrong metallic bars f, which slide upon the rails and-cut away any iceor snow that may be crusted upon the same. These bars or scrapers arecurved downward at the outer end of the shares and by catching upon theoutside of the rail'will prevent the shares from closing up to a gageless than that of the track.

The letter U indicates a strong iron staple, two'of which are fastenedsecurely into the back of the shares B and B, one at the top and theother at the bottom. Into each of these staples there are fastenedstrong metal rods r 1', which are fastened at their other ends into thecorresponding forward corners of the two guides D and D, said guidesbeing perforated for that purpose, all as shown in Fig. 1.

E is a strong. angle-iron clamp, which fits tightly over the beam A, andbeing bolted down to the same and also to the car upon which the beamrests it secures the beam in position upon the car. The clamp E iscomposed of two similar parts, and from the inner edge of each there isstruck up a flange 70. Each of these flanges is perforated to receive abolt 00, which fastens the two parts of the clamp together.

The letter 9 indicates a V-shaped ratchet, which is perforated toreceive the bolt w and is thus clamped between the two flanges k. A longlever h is carried upon the protruding end of thebolt m, and this leverin turn carries a claw-shaped ratchet b, all as shown in Fig. 3. One ormore clamps F, similar to E, but without the flanges 70, may be used tomore securely fasten the beam upon the car.

To operate my snow plow and scraper, I mount it upon a fiat car, or, ifdesired, I can .cut a hole in the end of abox-car large enough to admitthe beam A and fasten to the floor of the car, as described above. If Iwish to clear the track of an ordinary drift in a level country, I setthe shares B and B, extended backward, as shown in Fig. 2, opening themwide enough to clear the snow as far on each side of the track asdesired. Then by means of the lever h I set the claw-ratchet b into theteeth of the rack 11 in front of the clamp E and allow the ratchet g toengage the teeth of the rackin front of the clamp. With the ratchets setthus it is impossible for the rack to be pushed backward by the pressureof the snow upon the plowshares, and consequently when the plow ispushed forward the snow will be parted in the center of the track andforced aside and beyond the edges of the shares. In cuts where the snowis packed so deep and compactly that it is impossible to push rightthrough it I set the shares as before, but opening them only as wide asthe gage of the track. Then, pushing into the bank asfar as can beeasily done, the snow is parted and packed at either side of the track.I then loosen the ratchets and open the plowshares as far as it isdesired to clear the snow at the side of the track. Then, settingtheratch ets on the side of theclamp opposite the plow, I back out, and theedges of the shares dig into the snow at the sides of the track, thusforcing it into the track before the shares, which scrape the snow alongwith them until open ground is reached. When open ground is reached, Iraise the ratchets, and the pressure of the snow within the plow willforce the shares outward, as shown in Fig. 1, and the snow will then beplowed 01f the track to either side. Having taken one load of snow fromthe cut, I simply repeat the operation, going farther each time, untilall the snow is removed or the plow is able to force its way straightthrough the cut. In working a cut or heavy bank it willbe seen that ifthe ratchets are fastened up from the rack the pressure of the snow uponthe plowshares will set the same in their proper position at each stageof the operation. Thus the plow will operate automatically if simplypushed forward and in turn withdrawn by the locomotive.

Having thus described my combined snow plow and scraper, what I claim asmy invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a combined snow plow and scraper, the combination of a grooved beamA, faced upon the upper side with strong metallic facing, a metallictoothed rack sliding in the groove n, the clamp E, the flanges of whichbear the lever h and the ratchets g and Z, and the guideplates D and Dwith two strong plowshares or scrapers B and B, said shares beingmounted upon two metallic plates 0 and O, which are hinged together upona strong metallic rod t, said rod and hinge being braced by means ofstrong metallic braces P and P, which are fastened to the beam A, andsaid shares being connected by means of strong iron rods 1' r with theguide-plates D and I), all substantially asand for the purposes setforth and specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

BENJAMIN F. DENI-IAM.

Witnesses:

GEORGE M. DAVIS, S. W. REYNOLDS.

